27-year-old Georgia deputy dies from flu complications after month-long sickness
A 27-year-old Georgia deputy who had been battling the flu for a month has died, officials and media say.
John Cole Haynie, an investigator with the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office, died Saturday after a “courageous month-long medical battle,” according to a Facebook post from the Sheriff’s Office.
Haynie’s family told WSBTV he died from complications related to the flu.
Sheriff Eric Levett told WJCL that Haynie thought he had a cold at first.
“We did not expect that this would become deadly,” Levett told the TV station.
Haynie has been with the Sheriff’s Office for eight years, according to the Facebook post. He served as a detention deputy, a patrol deputy, a gang investigator and a fugitive investigator in his time there.
Haynie survived cancer when he was younger, according to 11Alive, and his family and friends knew him as a fighter.
“We have lost a brother, a friend, a husband, and a servant of our community,” the Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook. “And with that, we mourn.”
Sheriff Levett stressed the importance of going to the doctor when flu symptoms appear, according to WJCL.
There have been 37 flu-related deaths in Georgia since flu season started on Sept. 29, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.
Flu activity was “widespread” during the week ending on Jan. 18, which is the most recent data, and there were five flu-related deaths, the department says.
Following Haynie’s death, the Sheriff’s Office is teaching others how to prevent the flu, WSBTV reports.
“I think it’s important that we take those precautions, as not as a disrespectful thing because you don’t know who’s feeling ill or who might get ill,” Levett told the TV station.
Haynie’s patrol car is set up outside the Sheriff’s Office building so the community can place memorials, according to the Facebook post.
A vigil will be held in his honor Tuesday evening, the Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook.
“He was more than just an employee to me,” Sheriff Levett told WJCL. “He’s family.”
This story was originally published January 28, 2020 at 9:43 AM with the headline "27-year-old Georgia deputy dies from flu complications after month-long sickness."
